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Death penalty in PA: Will Frein be executed if convicted?

Prosecutors say they are seeking the death penalty for Eric Frein, the man charged with killing a state police trooper, but Lebanon District Attorney Dave Arnold doubts whether Frein would be executed if convicted.

Prosecutors say they are seeking the death penalty for Eric Frein, the man charged with killing a state police trooper, but Lebanon District Attorney Dave Arnold doubts whether Frein would be executed if convicted.

There are about 200 inmates on death row in Pennsylvania, and the last execution was 15 years ago.

On the floor of the Lebanon District Attorney’s conference room sits boxes of documents from a death penalty case dating back to the mid 1990's.

That is frustrating to Arnold. Arnold believes the appeals process that occurs after a person is sentenced to death drags out too long.

“I think it needs to move more quickly,” Arnold said. “If a person is granted a certain number of appeals, go through them quickly so you’re not sitting here 15-20 years later with the same case.”

He also blames federal judges who oppose the death penalty for the logjam of blocked executions.

When asked whether the death penalty is worth having, Arnold said that with the way the system is currently operating, he isn’t sure.

Arnold believes the death penalty can work as a deterrent and that certain crimes deserve the ultimate punishment.

“I believe in the death penalty,” Arnold said. “I believe it’s an appropriate punishment for certain people, but it has to be carried out, and the way it functions in PA … it’s not working.”

Governor-elect Tom Wolf said he plans to place a moratorium on the death penalty. A spokesperson for Wolf told News 8 Wolf believes in the need to hold people accountable, but that there are problems with the criminal justice system that need to be addressed to avoid executing an innocent person.